Some bed bugs are better at getting between your sheets than others, reveals new research.
The study suggests many leading traps used by pest management firms are ineffective at getting rid of the little critters.
Researchers
found that tropical bed bugs are better able to use small pads on their
legs to grip the surface of the trap and scale the inner wall.
In 2014, genetic tests revealed that a single undetected pregnant bed bug is all it takes to start an entire infestation.
- A DNA study at Sheffield University showed colonies of bed bugs come from a common ancestor or a few of the female bed bugs.
- The pregnant bed bug could rapidly create a colony of thousands that feed on humans.
- Bed bugs are capable of surviving without feeding for a month as they wait for a human.
- In
the late 1880s, an estimated 75 per cent of households were affected,
but by the outbreak of World War II, that figure had dwindled to 25 per
cent,
- Their recent resurgence has been blamed by some experts on resistance to commonly used insecticides and international travel.
The study,
published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, has shown that the
tropical bed bug, Cimex hemipterus, can readily climb out of
smooth-walled pitfall traps.
The researchers tested four leading traps, all designed in the US, where the bed bug Cimex lectularius is more common.
The traps were effective at trapping adult C. lectularius but not adult C. hemipterus.
The C. hemipterus bugs were better at using the small pads on their legs to climb things.
Taking
a close look using a scanning electron microscope, the Malaysian
researchers found that the tibial pad of adult C. hemipterus bed bugs
showed the presence of a greater number of hairs than on that of C.
lectularius.
They also had a more well-developed organ for glandular secretion at the base of the hairs.
The researchers saw the bed bugs using the tibial pad while climbing on the smooth surfaces.
However
they say further study is needed to understand exactly how the enhanced
hairs and glands in the tibial pads enable C. hemipterus to grip a
smooth vertical surface.
In 2014, genetic tests revealed that a single undetected pregnant bed bug is all it takes to start an entire infestation.
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